We’ve reached that time of year when it’s so hot the cicadas start buzzing in the trees mid-morning and become absolutely deafening by bed time.
AKA MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!
Here in the Midwest, the daily cicada choir is usually a good indication that local tomatoes are ripe, ready, and begging to be turned into Spaghetti al Pomodoro. This simple, light, and fresh Italian tomato sauce recipe with pasta is like summer on a plate, and I wait on pins and needles all year long to make it.
Pomodoro sauce is the ULTIMATE fresh Italian tomato sauce!
Pasta Pomodoro Sauce
Pomodoro means “tomato” in Italian, and pomodoro sauce, aka salsa al pomodoro, is a tomato-based pasta sauce that’s made from fresh tomatoes, olive oil, salt, fresh garlic, and fresh basil. Are you sensing a theme here?
Fresh, fresh, fresh!
Spaghetti al Pomodoro, or simply spaghetti pomodoro, is the sauce swirled with cooked spaghetti. In my case gluten free spaghetti. I really love Jovial’s Capellini (angel hair, y’all) and spaghetti, or Rummo gluten free spaghetti. This dish is also commonly made with linguini pasta.
Bottom line: whatever you’ve got in the pantry is going to to taste heavenly when coated in this light and luscious tomato sauce.
Ingredients Needed
I love how pomodoro sauce is truly unfussy and the simple ingredients are all ones I almost always have on hand — especially in the summertime.
- Fresh tomatoes: I use vine-ripened tomatoes for my fresh pomodoro sauce. It’s important that the tomatoes be very ripe (ie, this isn’t the best dish to make in December) and local if possible.
- Extra virgin olive oil: EVOO gives rich flavor to the sauce, especially after being infused with shallots and garlic.
- Shallots and Garlic: fresh shallots add a delicate onion flavor, while garlic adds an unmistakable punch of garlicky flavor.
- Fresh basil: fresh basil is torn into the sauce near the end of the cooking process so its herby flavor is still at its peak when serving.
- Sugar: just a pinch of sugar is added to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Salt and pepper: ‘nuf said.
- Butter: butter isn’t typically added to pomodoro sauce, though I personally love how it smoothes out the flavor of this fresh tomato sauce. I add it to the tomato sauce I make with canned tomatoes, too. Just a personal preference that I’d love for you to try.
- Spaghetti: You can’t have Spaghetti al Pomodoro without spaghetti! Again, I like Jovial and Rummo brands though you can use your favorite pasta. Angel hair or linguini is also delicious.
- Parmesan cheese: freshly grated parmesan cheese on top of each bowl of Spaghetti al Pomodoro is the cherry on top of this incredible dish!
Family Friendly Recipe
Making this pasta always reminds me of Ben’s and my vacation to the Amalfi Coast in Italy nearly 100 years ago (give or take a year or two). We stayed in the quiet, tiny town of Praiano, just down the coast from touristy Positano and on our daily walks up and down the stone stairways that got you everywhere you needed to go, we could hear and smell the residents cooking. MY GOSH, there were several times that I had to hold Ben back from knocking on someone’s door asking to stay for dinner!
Here in the present day, we absolutely adore this dish. The last time I served it Gwen said, “I need this again and again and again!” and my boys, who generally prefer to see ground beef in their spaghetti sauce, love love love this recipe.
Spaghetti al Pomodoro is the perfect example of simple is best. Combine a few fresh, everyday ingredients together to make this swirly, irresistable dinner tonight!
Serve it with Homemade Focaccia
How to Make Spaghetti al Pomodoro
Step 1: Prep the tomatoes.
Start the spaghetti pomodoro by peeling large, vine-ripened tomatoes. We do this by scoring the bottom of the tomatoes with an “X” then boiling them briefly to loosen the skin.
Carefully add the scored tomatoes to a large pot of boiling water then cook for 30 seconds.
Transfer the tomatoes to a colander to drain then, once they’re cool enough to handle, peel away the skins and discard. Easy!
Tip: Turn the heat under the pot of water to low to keep it hot. We’ll use it to cook the pasta in a bit!
Chop the peeled tomatoes then transfer – seeds, juices, and all – to a bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Start the sauce.
Heat a large skillet with high sides, or a medium-size Dutch Oven, over medium heat then add extra virgin olive oil. Once hot, add chopped shallots then saute until tender, 3-5 minutes. Add pressed or minced fresh garlic cloves then saute until extremely fragrant but not browned, another 30 seconds.
Step 3: Simmer the sauce.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan with a pinch of sugar then simmer for 30 minutes, smashing the tomatoes against the bottom and sides of the pan every so often with a rubber spatula to smooth the sauce out, and turning the heat down to medium-low heat if necessary to reduce splatters.
When the sauce has 5 minutes left to cook, add fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces, plus butter, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.
Step 4: Boil the Spaghetti
When the sauce has 15 minutes or so left to cook, bring the pot of water you used to boil the tomatoes in back up to a boil and season generously with salt. Add spaghetti noodles then you have two options:
- Drain the pasta: Cook the pasta until it’s al dente, drain, then scoop onto plates and serve the pomodoro sauce on top.
- Finish the pasta in the sauce: Cook the pasta until it’s just shy of al dente then transfer it to the sauce pot with tongs to finish cooking directly in the sauce. Add splashes of pasta cooking water if needed to cook the pasta all the way through.
Personally I prefer method 2 because it infuses the pasta with the sauce.
That’s all she wrote! I’m telling you, make this once, and you’ll be planting tomatoes next summer JUST so you can make it on demand. SO fresh, SO light, SO darn delicious. I hope you love every last bite of Spaghetti al Pomodoro – enjoy!
More Easy Italian Dinner Ideas
- Chicken Meatballs
- Gluten Free Lasagna
- Gluten Free Meatballs
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Pasta Fresca
- Gluten Free Focaccia
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Spaghetti al Pomodoro
Description
Spaghetti al Pomodoro is the perfect recipe to highlight juicy, ripe summer tomatoes. This simple, summer pasta dish is fresh and light!
Ingredients
- 2-1/2lb very ripe vine-ripened tomatoes (~4 large tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- pinch of sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 12oz gluten free spaghetti
- freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Score the bottom of the tomatoes with a shallow “X” then carefully add to the pot and boil for 30 seconds. Remove tomatoes to a colander then place a lid on top of the pot and turn heat down to low to keep warm.
- Once tomatoes aren’t hot to the touch, peel away and discard the skins. Chop tomatoes then add – juices, seeds and all – to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet with high sides or medium-sized Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots then saute under tender, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic then saute until very fragrant but not browned, 30 seconds.
- Add chopped tomatoes and sugar then stir to combine and simmer until sauce reaches desired consistency, 25-30 minutes, smashing tomatoes against the sides and bottom of the skillet with a spatula every so often and turning the heat down if necessary to reduce splattering.
- During the last 5 minutes of the cooking process, tear in fresh basil leaves and add butter, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine then taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
- When the sauce has 15 minutes left to cook, bring the pot of water back to a boil then add 1 Tablespoon salt. Add spaghetti then cook until al dente and drain. Scoop cooked pasta into bowls then top with desired amount of pomodoro sauce and parmesan cheese, if using. OR:
- If you’d prefer to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce (vs draining it and serving the sauce on top) use tongs to transfer the pasta when it’s just shy of al dente into the sauce then stir and cook until al dente. You may need to add a splash of pasta cooking water if necessary to cook the pasta all the way through.
Notes
- Please note that gluten free pasta is generally sold in 12oz containers, while traditional pasta is sold in 16oz containers. That said, if you’re using regular pasta, you’ll want to only use 3/4 of the 16oz container.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
Favorites From The Week - Key Ingredients 08.22.2015
[…] a crazy amount of tomatoes on our counter right now just waiting to be used so I’m thinking this pasta dish is going to be on the menu for this weekend. It looks so fresh and […]
Heather Stockton 08.17.2015
Wow I love it am going to buy some Tomato’s and try it.
Cheers and Thanks.
Morgan 08.17.2015
Made this the other night from some beautiful farm-fresh tomatoes I snagged while I was in Tennessee. It’s a great sauce and only gets better with some time! Thanks for the recipe!
Kristin 08.17.2015
I agree! I had another plate of it a couple days after making my last batch and it was even better than fresh. So glad you liked it!
Shane 08.17.2015
This was so wonderful. Grabbed some heirloom tomatoes, basil, and shallots from the downtown farmers market and proceeded to make some bliss.
Thanks!
Kristin 08.17.2015
Fresh and local – doesn’t get much better! So glad you liked the dish, Shane!
Malia @ Small Town Girl 08.14.2015
My tomatoes are just about ready and I will be turning them into this asap!! I love promodoro and your recipe sounds perfectly simple. Excited! Pinned!
Amy Grossman 08.13.2015
When I saw this recipe, I new I had to make it ASAP. So, I made it tonight for dinner. We both loved it, so much! Kristin thank you, for this amazing recipe. I used heirloom tomatoes and it could not have been better. I’m going to make this again and freeze a big batch for winter.
Kristin 08.17.2015
So glad to hear, Amy, thanks for the great feedback!
Stephanie 08.13.2015
Oops, just read thru the comments and you already answered the freezing question….thanks!
Stephanie 08.13.2015
I too have tomatoes coming out my ears…..do you think this recipe could be frozen for the winter (minus the noodles)?? Trying to figure out how to use all the garden bounty!!
Emma Madison 08.13.2015
OMG! This looks fabulous. I love pasta and will definitely be trying this recipe out soon.
Rachel E 08.12.2015
Perfect timing for this recipe! My tomato plant is going crazy! My basil is pretty gigantic too.
Elizabeth 08.12.2015
Looks divine! Just wondering, you used Earth Balance Vegan Butter so Lincoln could have some? Is Lincoln vegan? or does he have an intolerance also?
Kristin 08.12.2015
He’s allergic to dairy. :/
Elizabeth 08.12.2015
Oh no! I must have missed that while reading your posts. I truly bow down to you now having to make gluten and dairy free meals that everyone will eat. You are a super mom!!
Candy 08.12.2015
Made this tonight….awesome!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Jess 08.12.2015
Glad you guys are working your way through such a tomato bounty – between you and your mom, I’m sure not a one will go to waste!
Destiny 08.12.2015
This looks fantastic! FYI, you may want to change the typo in the recipe, it currently says “saucy cummer ingredients”! ?
Kristin 08.12.2015
Oh lord!! Thanks for the heads up!
Courtney 08.12.2015
Looks delicious, but I have to know what is in the corner?! It looks like zucchini fritters or something?! Whatever they are, they look amazing!
Kristin 08.12.2015
Nailed it! They’re zucchini and sweet corn fritters. I’ve been trying to get the recipe just right before sharing. Almost there!
Helen 08.12.2015
Is all gluten-free pasta the same or do you find some brands are better than others?
Kristin 08.12.2015
I stick with Barilla and Delallo brand gluten-free pasta. I can’t tell *any* difference between them and the regular version!
Helen 08.12.2015
Thanks! I’m just switching to gluten-free so was unsure.
Emily | Robust Recipes 08.12.2015
Looks delicious!
Stella @ Stellicious Life 08.12.2015
Yum, this looks so good I want to dive right in! :-D
Can you tell me what is the calligraphic font you used on the photo? It looks lovely :-) Thank you!
Kristin 08.12.2015
You bet – it’s called Dawning of a New Day :)
Kaelin 08.12.2015
Yay for tomatoes, boo to the birds destroying my plants!
I am wondering if this sauce would be okay to freeze?
Love your recipes, thanks for this one!
Kristin 08.12.2015
I think it would freeze beautifully!
Brittany | Words Like Honeycomb 08.12.2015
This looks so fabulous! Definitely perfect for tomato season :)